Upcoming Sequels for Popular Games

Lukas Hellberg
Staff Writer
  Hearing that a popular franchise is releasing a sequel is always exciting news to any avid gamer. Thankfully for the aforementioned group, there is now a plethora of games that have been announced recently, and even some that are coming out within the month.
  A sequel to the action-RPG game Cyberpunk 2077 was announced on October 4th, being code-named “Project Orion.” While little is known of the title, including the release date, what is known is that Project Orion will not be taking place in the infamous city that is the subject of the first game but rather in a new place that is yet to be seen.
  Hollow Knight, a game of the Metroidvania genre, is also getting its own sequel. Infamous for its difficulty, the original Hollow Knight game was released on 24 February, 2017, for Windows and was well received by the public. The sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, will demonstrate very similar combat mechanics to its predecessor, according to the publishers’ website. Hollow Knight: Silksong will portray a different protagonist than the nameless character from the original game. Hopefully, the new game will be just as much of a challenge, if not more. The release date is not confirmed, but according to the gameplay trailer during the Xbox Showcase, it will be released before 12 June, 2023.
  For those more inclined to older games, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series is getting a revival in 2023 with the release of their new game, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl, according to the team’s social media. The famous survival-horror sequel was announced in 2010, but had been repeatedly delayed due to financial stress in the company and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Despite all of these major setbacks, the developers at GSC Game World, the company making the game, are working hard to release this anticipated title.
  The next game in the Bayonetta series came out on 28 October, 2022. Bayonetta 3, the newest game in the series, is a classic action-adventure, hack-and-slash game that has drawn in a lot of attention on social media; however, it has gotten a lot of negative attention due to Hellena Taylor, the original voice actress’ decision to quit. Taylor quit because she believed she was not getting paid properly for her work; a starring role like the protagonist would usually be paid $10,000 per game, the actress was only receiving $4,000. This sparked a massive controversy on various social media platforms. Regardless of the drama regarding Taylor’s wages, Bayonetta 3 continues to be one of the most anticipated games for the Nintendo Switch.
  It is always nice to look forward to upcoming sequels for a popular game. Even if the upcoming sequel of a popular game is not being released quite as soon as the aforementioned games, one should always be eager for the game’s long-awaited arrival.